Milk 'N' Cookies

With Baby Shakes

Milk 'N' Cookies

Milk 'N' Cookies are the stuff of legends -- or would be legends. Forming in the early 1970s in Long Island, New York, this Power Pop group was originally signed to Island Records and seemed destined for greatness. Yet, through many cases of "right place, wrong time," the band never managed to break. The core line-up of the band was made up of Ian North, Justin Strauss, Sal Maida and Mike Ruiz and, in their time, they played classic NYC venues like CBGB's and Max's Kansas City. They shared bills with everyone from Talking Heads to The Ramones and have amassed a cult following, influencing the likes of Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) and Debbie Harry (Blondie).

After working extensively with the band members, Milk 'N' Cookies is a lavish reissue of the group’s entire recorded output. Housed in a deluxe slipcase is the band's original legendary LP, a 2xLP featuring rare and unreleased tracks, as well as a book that chronicles the full history of the band’s wild ride through the music biz—as told by the band themselves, through accounts from their many (in)famous admirers (Sonic Youth, Talking Heads, the Ramones) and through never-before-seen photographs.

"Get out your Tinkertoys once again as we’re happily blessed with this new Milk ‘N’ Cookies package."As the guys so eloquently state in their song, ‘Buy This Record.’"

- Russell and Ron Mael a/k/a Sparks

Baby Shakes

This year's Best of NYC band is Baby Shakes, a power-pop/garage rock four-piece (there's a ghost member in the band) that knows how to have fun. The group wins this poll's grand prize: the cover of the spring 2017 issue of The Deli - we are looking forward to that issue! The band's catalogue is pleasantly varied, with everything from relaxed surf rock tunes to easy rock-n-rollers to borderline punk, heavy-hitters. Though the expert guitar work of Mary Blount and Judy Lindsay is apparent, featuring harmonization, synchronized riffs, and the occasional shredtastic solo, what really makes Baby Shakes so infectious is the raw force and high energy of their songs. It's something you can pick up on even through earbuds. Be on the lookout for their new album Turn It Up out this spring. - Andrew Strader-Deli Magazi